Sewing-machine.



A. V. ABERGROMBIE.

SEWING MACHINE. j 7 APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1906.

Patented Mar. 23, 1909. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

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'A. V. ABERCROMBIE. SEWING momma. APPLICATION FILED JULY 28,1908. v

Patented Mar. 23, 11909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES: Q9F 70 8 66 l/VVENTOR.

THE "yams PETERS 00., WISHUYGTON, a. c.

v UNITED STATES",

ALEXANDER V ABERCROMBIEXOF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO CHARLES M. ABERCROMBIE,

or BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT.

SEWING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented March 23, 1909.

1 Application filed July 28, 1908. Serial No. 328,250.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALEXANDER V. ABER- CROMBIE, a citizen of the United States, re-

siding in Bridgeport, in the county of Fairfield and State of Connecticut, have invented.

' manufacture of corsets, and particularly for stitching the coverings for the fastening st eels.

My lnvention comprises means for suspending the cooperation of the needle and looptaker without stopping the machine whereby a number of stitches maybe skipped and means whereby the stitching is automatically resumed after the required amount of skipping has occurred.

In the accompanying drawings which form a part of this s ecification and in which like parts are simi arly designated throughout the several figures, Figure 1 is a front side elevation, partly in se'ctionof a sewing machine equipped with my improvements. Fig. 2, is a front end elevation of the lower portion of such machine. Fig. 3, is a detail view of a portion of a garment illustrating the appearance of the seam which is made by my machine, and Figs. 4 and 5, res ectively, a longitudinal vertical sectional e evation of a sewing machine arm, and a plan. view of the same, both partly broken away and illustrating a modified form of my invention.

In describing my improvements, only such limited reference will be made to the usual well known parts of a sewing machine as is deemed necessary for a proper understanding of my invention.

In the drawings I have shown my invention as applied to the well known 'Wheeler Wilson vertical hook machine, but ,of course, do not wish to be limited in this respect since my improvements are applicable to I many other types of sewin machines.

Referring particu arly to Figs. 1. and 2 of the drawings, 1 is the base-plate or frame of the sewing machine surmounted by the usual overhanging arm 2- within which is operatively mounted in any suitable manner the vertically reciprocating needle-bar 3 carrying the usual needle 4. 5 is the presserfoot carried by the Presser-bar 6 and adapted to cooperate with the feed-dog 7 mounted on the feed-bar 8 to effect the feeding of .the material in the usual manner. 9 is the take-up and 10 is the throat plate provided with the usual needle aperture 11. All the above mentioned parts are or may be of the usual or any approved construction and operation. 12 is the hook or loop-taker, which, in the present instance, is carried on the upper end of a vertical shaft 13, journaled in a sliding bracket 14 supported by shouldered screws 15 within ways 16 formed on the under side of the base-plate 1. The screws 15 pass through slots 17 formed in the bracket 14 and are tapped into the underside of the frame 1, and interposed between the heads ofsaid screws 15 and the underside of the bracket 14 are washers 18. Said screws 15 do not bindthe bracket tightly to the base-plate but merely support said bracket so that the same is capable of a limited sliding movement to and from the needle and in order to adjust the loop-taker with respect tothe needle, I have provided a stop-screw 19 tapped within said bracket and backed up by a binding screw 20, so that when the loop-taker is in position to cooperate with the needle in forming stitches, the end of said adjusting screw will abut against the shoulder of one of the screws 15. Bearing against the front edge of thebracket 14 and pressing the same toward the needle is a spring 21 which is secured to the front edge of the base-plate 1 b screws 22. Fast on the end of the vertica loop-taker shaft 13 is a bevel gear 23 which intermeshes with a similar gear 24 splined on the shaft 25, which latter is journaled at one end in a hanger or lug 26 depending from the basein a lug 27 depending from the bracket 14. Secured to the shaft on opposite sides of the hanger 26 is a collar 28 and spur-gear 29, whereby said shaft is held against endwise movement. The gear 29 intermeshes with and is driven by a gear 30 tight on the shaft 31, which latter is journaled in suitable bearings at 32, 33, on the base-plate and is actuated from the main driving shaft 34, which supports the band pulley 35, in any suitable or approved, manner. The gear 24 which is splined on the shaft 25 by a key 36 is held in operative engagement with the gear 23 by tongue 37jwhich depends from and is carried by the bracket 14, said tongue fitting plate 1, while the other end is journaled with-' Wifihthe exception of having the looptaker supporting brac ket '14, held resiliently 5 in position with respect to the needle bythespring 21, all of the previously described parts are well known and common to the before mentioned Wheeler & Wilson vertical hook sewing machine and form a part'o'f my invention only in so far as to furnish a practical and approved sewing mechanism :in conjunction with which my improvement may be employed.

Pivoted together byza screw 39 is ELiPitlP-Ol toggle levers '40, 411, the lever 40 being in =turnpivoted:at 42 to a n ear 43 secured ztolor i'ormedon the 'braeket 14', while the lever 41 is inturn pivoted :by=a screw 44 to athede- Spending :hanger or 'lug '26 lil'ormed on the under side oi the base-plate 1. Formed on therle-ver lfl is-a depending finger or-lead nut 45 adapted to engage :a threaded-sleeve 46 splined on theshai't2'5 by aieather orkey 47 carried by said sleeve and adapted to slide freely within a groove or --key-zway 48 out length-wise in said shaft Inter osed between said threaded sleeve 46 an Ithegear 24-on theshai't 25 is a coilspring49 which tends to presswsaid sleeve 46in adirection V toward the collar .28,xa soft wasl1er50-being interposed between the end of :said sleeve and said collar to :act as cushion :between these parts. Formed onthe rear-end of the 'sleeve'46 is an annular-flange 51, adapted torengage and coeperate with van) adjustable trigger or trip 52 secured to theilever 41 by a screw 58, the slot 5'4sin-said trip permitting the same to 'be adjusted nearerto or! farther awayirom said flange, whereby a lesser or greater number of revolutions will occur before said flange contacts with said trigger toitrip the toggle-joint' formedby th-eilevers '40, 41 and Ireeposition the *loop-t-aker for 'efiective cooperation-withtl're:needle.

155 is: -a lever one-end of= which is pivoted at 56' to the hanger 26 .while the other 'endcarries a roll 57, whichwhensaidlever is-depressed-bears upon thelevers 40, :41, and depresses the latter to distended position, and

5058 is atread-le rod-:the u per end of which is attached :in any suitab e nranner at 59 'to said lever while the 1 lower! end is secured to any suitable operating treadle (not shown) the function. of the lever '55: and treadle -con- "nection being merely to set the parts in lecked position.

=The operation of myinventionris as .iol-

lows: As shown in Fig. 1* theloop-takerva-nd bracket14 oarryingthe same has beenwith- 60' drawn or" pushed bythe toggle lever against 'the resiliency. 'oi' the spring 21, to. 'a: position siiihciently removed from the path of :the ineecl le to preventwsaid: lo'op taker fronrseiz- 'ing the :loop "of l-thread ipresented by the need'le, rand therefore L no i stitches -will abe formed during this position of parts, the 11eedle merely descending and perforating the material repeatedly until the loop-taker is again restored to a position near enough to the path of the needle to properly coi'iperatc with the same. Rotation of the shaft .25 with the parts in this position, as illustrated in Fig. 1, will cause the sleeve 46, through the action of the lead-finger 45, to be advanced against the resiliency ol' the spring 49 until the flange.51 on said SlGQVUJGOIIlflClS with the trigger 52 whereupon the toggle-levers-40, 41., will he dripped or upset thereby permitting the loop-taker 12, and bracket '14, "lorceibby the-spring 21, to move ti'nvard the needle vuntil arrested by the stop-screw 19 striking against theshouldered screw 15 in which latter position the loop-taker will be in such relation to the-needle as to ,properly =co'0'perate with the same in zlnllllillfd: stitches. The adjustment of the lovers 40, 41, with respect -to each other is such that when these parts :are in locked :position as shown in Fig. l, the pivot 39-will'be slightly below a line drawn between the pivots 42, 44, so :thatttheaction oi' ,the spring 21 will :tend to :hold the dead-linger in ronlact with ithe threaded sleeve 46 and insure the advancement of the latter on the shaft 25. NVl1en,=l10wever, said sleeve has been advanced sui'liciently to contact with the trigger52 andraise the pivot 3S) slightlvabovo -a'lineintersectingthepiwits 42, 44,:the same :action of said spring 2] willcause said levers vto be upset and said leaddinger 4-5 to die quickly withdrawn "from contact with :the :threaded sleeve'46, thereby permitting the latter to be returned to normal position -against:the washer 50 by thetaction ol'-the spring 49, the downward ;pressure on the treadle rod 5S-by theloot-olth-e operator initially employed to.- set. the parts in locked position having been removed, as will be readilyunderstood. Thetrigger 52 having been adjusted with-respect to the flange 5] on the threaded sleeve 46, ioiwthc number of revolutions ittis-desirejd tohav-e the looptaker-iniss' catching theneedleloop i or that portion of theseam where --it ,is desired no stitching shall occur, the 'machine when started will form an ordinary seam until-the treadle-rod 5S 1 is depressed, whereupon the cooperation oi' the loop-taker and needle lo form stitches =-will he sus )ended, as previously described, throughout :th-e period when the flange 51 on thethreaded sleeve 46 is advancing toward saidrtrigger, the op- -eratertakingcare meanwhile not to continue thepressure onsaid rodlongenough to interieremvith the automatic action of said "flange and trigger upon meeting, whereupon the, proper: relation of loop-taker and needle toform stitches will :bcrestored nil-11d the stitchingautomatically resumed. Throughout this operation; the; feeding! of the mateiwmhlwwtiwMmwwiliiltllillllllihlWWWWMlllilllMiiliiiliWM proper time.

The strips of material to be stitchedin this manner are usually marked at the beginning and termination of those places, which must be left free of stitching by awl pricks, and

heretofore, it has been the custom of the operator, after placing the material in the machine, to stitch the same untilone of such marks appeared directly beneath the needle, whereupon the machine was stopped and the work carefully advanced or shifted by hand to the next mark and the stitching resumed, a rocess which is both slow and expensive. y my improvement, however, the operator may finish the entire seam without stopping at these marks at all, being only careful to press the treadle rod when one of such marks appears beneath the needle, thereby causing the machine to skip the stitches for the required distance and to automatically resume the stitching at the In Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated a slightly modified form of my invention, wherein the needle bar is given an axial movement to cause the skipping of stitches in lieu of shifting the loop-taker, which I will now explain. The upper shaft has splined thereon a threaded sleeve 60 and is limited in its rearward sliding movement by an adjustable collar 61, tight on said shaft, the key 62 of said sleeve sliding freely in a groove 63 in said shaft. Interposed between said sleeve and a bushing 64 secured in the forward end of the arm 2 is a coil-spring 65, which tends topress said sleeve against said collar61. 66 is a rockshaft journaled in suitable bearings 67 on said arm and having fixed thereon; at its front end. a lever 68 provided with an operating handle 69; Pivoted to the lever 68 by a screw 70 is a lever or link 71 which in turn is at its other end pivoted by a screw 72 to a le ver 73 splined to the needle-bar 3 by a key 74 fitted to work freely in a groove 75 cut lengthwise in the needle bar. The lever 73 isheld against moving vertically with the needle bar by an ofl-set finger 76 secured tothe arm by screws 7 7, between which finger and the top of the arm said lever is confined. 78is aleadfinger also secured to the rock-shaft 66 and adapted to engage and cooperate with the threaded sleeve 60 in a manner precisely similar to the finger 45 and sleeve 46 of my previously described construction.

the link'71 while the other end is attached to the arm 2, the action of which tends to pull The sleeve 60 is also provided with a flange 79 the link 71 in a direction toward the rockshaft 66. 82 is a stop or projection formed on the hub of the lever 73 which when the needle bar is in proper sewing position abuts against an adjustable sto i-screw 83 tapped in thepart 76 and backe up by a j am-nut 84. 82- is the needle bar actuating link which is at one end pivoted to the usual crank-stud 86 fast to the take-up cam 87 mounted on the end of the upper shaft 34 in the usual manner. The other end of said link 82 is pivoted around a stud 88 formed on a collar 89 through which the-needle bar 3 passes and is free' to turn axially therein. Secured to the needle bar 3 above and below the collar 89 are collets 90, 91, which bear upon opposite sides of said collar 89 and cause the needle-bar to move vertically with the motions of said link 82.

The form of mechanism just described is well adapted for use in connection with machines which employ loop-takers whose construction does not admit being shifted away from the needle to avoid the needle loop, such as the cast-over hook used in the well known 61 high speed Wheeler & Wilson machine, and theoperation of this form of my invention I will now describe.

In sewing position, the eye of the needle 4 bears such relation tothe loop-taker as to spread the loop within the pathway of the point of the loop-taker or directly across the 7 same, but in the position for suspending the cooperation of loop-taker and needle, the latter is rotated axially a quarter turn thereby causing the loop to be spread in a direction at right angles to the previous position and outside the pathway of travel of said loop-taker point, thereby causing the latter to miss the loop, as will be readily understood.

I The parts having been positioned as shown in Fig. 4, by manipulating the handle 69, the loop-taker will continue to miss the loop spread by the needle until the threaded sleeve 60 has advanced far enough for the flange 79 to strike the incline 80 and raise the lead-finger 78-out -of engagement with said threaded sleeve; at the same time raising the pivot 70 of the toggle-joint formed by the lever 68 and link 71 above a line intersecting the pivots 66, 72; whereupon the action of the spring 81 will cause the togglejoint to be upset and the lever 73 and needle .bar 3 to which it is splined rotated until the stop 82 abuts against the stop screw 83 in whichlatter position the needle will cause the loop to. be spread across the pathway of the loop-taker and the stitching resumed.

The adjustment of the lever 68 and link 71 as shown in Fig. 4, is such that when these parts are set with the lead-finger 78 in proper engagement with the threaded sleeve 60,

the pivot 70 will be slightly belowa line intersecting the centers 66, 72, so that-the actionsofthe spring 81 willtend to hold said lead-,finger78 in engagement with said sleeve ,60, and as soon as saidiingerand sleeve are disengaged by the action of the flange 7 9 striking the incline 80 said sleeve will bereturned to its normal position against the collar 61 by the action of .the spring 65. The number of skipped stitches is readily adj ustable-by varying the position of-the collar 61, ,as will be readily understood.

In the matter of the various mechanical details I do not wish to be limited or circul nscribed, since the same may be greatly ,varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, the gist of whichresides in the broad idea of providing means for discontinuing the stitching for a predetermined period without interrupting the feeding of the material and then automatically resuming such stitching.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim asnew and desire to secure by Letters :Patent is 1. In a sewingmachine, the combination ofstitch forming mechanism and means for feeding the material with manually con- .trolledmeans for discontinuingthe stitching without interrupting the-feeding and means for automatically resumingthe stitching.

2. In a sewing machine, the combination of stitch forming mechanism andmeans for feeding the material with manually con trolledmeansfor discontinuing the stitching throughout a predetermined period without interrupting the feeding andmeans for automatically resumingthe stitching.

3. In a sewingmachine, the combination ofstitch forming mechanism and imeansfor feeding. the material witl meansfor suspending-thecOoperatiOn of needle andloop-taker without arresting their movements and means for automatically restoring the cooperation of needle and loop-taker.

4. In a sewing machine, the combination of, stitch {forming mechanism and means for feeding material with. means for shifting the .working portion of the loop-taker whereby cooperation between the latter and the needle to form stitches is suspended, and means for automatically. restoring such coopstation.

Ina sewing machine the combination of stitch forming.mechanism and means for feeding the material ,with manually controlled meansfor shifting the working posi: ,tion of the loop-taker, whereby,cooperatiOn betweenltheilatterand theneedle to form stitches is, suspended .and means .for automatically restoring such cooperation.

6. In a sewing' nachine,thc combination of stitch forming mechansim and means for ifeeding, the material with means, for shifting the working .position of [the .loop taker, M' hereby cooperation; between the latter and h meedle to form stitch i's suspend Lamaze instrumentalitics .for maintaining the looptaker in such shifted position throughout a predetermined period, and means for automatically restoring said loop-taker in position to cooperate with the needle.

7. In a sewing machine, the combination ofmeans for feedmgthe material and stitch forming mechanism including a loop-taker journaledin abearingmovably mounted on the :frame, manually controlled mechanism for shifting said bearing and loop-taker away from the needle, whereby cooperation between the latter and said loop-taker is suspended and means for automatically returning said loop-taker to proper position with respect to ,the needle, whereby cooperation between the latter and said loop-taker is restored.

8. In a sewing machine, the combination of means for feeding the material and stitch forming mechanism including a loop-taker j ournaled in a bearing slidably mounted on the frame, manually controlled mechanism for shifting said bearin g and loop-taker away from the needle, whereby cooperation between the latter and said loop+taker is suspended, means for maintaining said loopthe frame, stops for locating said loop-taker with respect .to the needle, a treadle con nection and instrumentalities intermediate of the latter and said bearing for shifting said loop-taker for the purpose set forth.

10. In a sewing machine, the combination of means forifeeding the material and stitch forming mechanism including a loop-taker journaled in abearing movably mounted on the frame, stops-foriocating said loop-taker with respect to the needle, a treadle connection and instrumentalities intermediate of the latter and said bearing for shifting the loop-taker, including a pair of toggle-levers the opposite extremities of which are pivoted respectively, to said bearing and to a stationarypart of the frame, substantially set forth.

11. 3111 a sewing machine the combination of means for feeding the material and stitch forming.mechanism including a loop-taker j ournaled in a bearing movably mounted on the frame, stops for locating said loop-taker with respect to the needle, a treadle connection and instrumentalities intermediate of the latter and said bearing for shifting the loop-taker, including a pair of toggle-levers 1 the opposite extremities ofwhich are pivoted,

respectively, to said bearing and a stationary part of the frame, means for holding said toggle-levers in distended position throughout a predetermined period and means for automatically actuating said toggle-levers at the termination of such period, for the purpose set forth.

12. In a sewing machine, the combination of means for feeding the material and stitch forming mechanism including a loop-taker journaled in a bearing movably mounted on the frame, stops for locating said looptaker with respect to the needle, a spring for returning said bearing against said stops, a

treadle connection and instrumentalities intermediate of the latter and said bearing for shifting the loop-taker, including a pair of toggle levers the opposite extremities of which are pivoted, respectively to said bearing and a stationary part of the frame, means for holding said toggle-levers in distended position throughout a predetermined period, including a threaded sleeve splined upon a rotatory shaft and adapted to engage a leadfinger carried by one of said levers, a spring for returning said sleeve to normally retracted position and a flange on said sleeve adapted to engage an adjustable trip or trigger, carried by said toggles, when advanced by the action of said threaded sleeve and lead-finger, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

ALEXANDER V. ABEROROMBIE. 

